I do different parts periodically. If its just out I get all the flakeys off. Beans about every 3 months but I haven't gotten up in there myself. The last time was his teeth floating last October. So I'm thinking tomorrow I'm going to get ambitious and get some long gloves to go after him. Also how do you determine how much ace to give? He's not a fan... I'm going to start desensitizing him with it but I really just want to get a thourough cleaning done.Posted via Mobile Device

I'm honestly not sure the exact amount of times you should do it. I just always do it whenever he gets a good full sudsy bath, which is about four times a year (he gets hosed down all the time, so he's always clean), and I go ahead and spend the time to get it all done.

Meantime, I do the same, and just clean around to get some flaky stuff out.

As far as giving Ace, I would ask your vet about that to get a professional measurement.

My boy is typically pretty clean. By preference I try twice a year, cleaning the flakes every normal bath. He and I don't like it so I just make sure he isn't having any difficulties and can sometimes do once a year.

I do mine whenever I get his teeth floated. It is just easier that way.. I have heard from twice a year to once a month. It depends. But every 6 months is what I do. And if it just so happens to be out when I am washing him down I get what I can. Other than that I let the vet do her thing and take care of it. :)

A male horse needs to have his sheath and penis cleaned periodically. It is an unsavory, but necessary task. Most breeding stallions are probably washed often enough during breeding season, but they might not get proper attention during the rest of the year. Stallions who are pasture-bred could easily get ignored, but geldings are the ones who most often have problems. An accumulation of dirt and excretions called smegma builds up in the area, and must be removed. Mares experience the same affliction between their udders.

One of the first signs you may see, if your horse has dirty genitals, is tail rubbing. There can be several reasons for tail rubbing, but if you worm regularly, and are not plagued by parasites such as lice, a dirty udder or sheath should be high on your list of suspects. Routine genital cleaning is best; then you won't have to wait for these symptoms. How often should you check your horse? There is no exact answer to that question. It varies from horse to horse, and each area of the country is probably different. In Arizona and neighboring parts of the Southwest, horses seem to get filthy quickly. If a cross-section of horse owners were asked, there would be quite an array of answers. Once every 2 or 3 months is a suggested routine. Many gelding owners, who think they cleanse their horses adequately, are overlooking an important part of the chore. There is a pouch in the end of the penis that sometimes causes serious trouble because people simply do not know about it. It needs to be cleared out each time the sheath and penis are washed. Usually the pouch will have one or more small lumps or beans of smegma in it. They are frequently shaped like a pinto bean and are about the same size. Sometimes, they are as large as walnuts. If the pouch has been neglected for long, you might find things that will really surprise you.

Recently, I was asked to check a gelding for a woman, and had one of those surprises. The woman grooms her horse daily and bathes the sheath area frequently, but didn't know she needed to check inside the penis.

The gelding, extremely sore in the hindquarters, and sensitive to the touch, was obviously distressed. It was a weekend out at a ranch and no veterinarian was available. The ranch foreman and the horse's owner suspected he had a problem urinating, and they asked me to inspect him. It didn't take long to find his problem.

A hard brittle hook of matter the size of your little finger was sticking out the end of the penis. The area was extremely sensitive, and the horse was certainly not happy, but eventually all the foreign matter was removed. After the debris has been there so long, it seems to harden. In this case, the material, white and almost like pearl in appearance, broke and was removed in three large pieces. The volume was roughly equivalent to a heaping tablespoon. Sadly, this is not the largest deposit I have ever removed from a horse. This particular horse had been in lots of misery; but by morning, he was fine.

Wow that poor horse :( I check for beans at least every three months because my friend got a gelding and he had a walnut sizes black bean really hard. My gelding always has 3 small ones. He gets aggitated when I try and get them though he lifts his leg. I'm always as gentle as possible and always verbally correct him. He's never kicked out and I'd like to keep it that way. I honestly think the vet was a little rough with him :( he never drops it unless you scratch his butt. After she cleaned it there were small road rash type abraisions and he left it hanging. :( so now I want to be extra cautiousPosted via Mobile Device

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